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Iraqi Officials, Al-Sadr Reach Murky Deal

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Los Angeles Times

Published: May 11, 2008

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Iraqi government and representatives of radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced Saturday that they had struck a deal to halt weeks of fighting in a Baghdad slum. But disagreements over the content of the accord cast doubt on whether it would end the bloodshed.

Word of a possible breakthrough came as the Iraqi military announced the start of a long-promised crackdown in the northern city of Mosul, described by the U.S. military as the last urban stronghold of Sunni Arab militants loyal to al-Qaida in Iraq.

Iraqi police and soldiers fanned out in several neighborhoods, searching homes for weapons and fighters as residents waited inside. There were no immediate reports of clashes.

The extent of the deal between the government and al-Sadr's supporters, which was brokered by lawmakers and scheduled to take effect today, quickly became murky Saturday.

Under the terms announced by the cleric's lead negotiator, Sheik Salah Obeidi, al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia would set aside its weapons and allow the government to pursue individuals wanted for attacks, provided there was a warrant. In return, the government would stop what Obeidi called "random" raids and would open blocked roads into the cleric's Baghdad stronghold, Sadr City.
Obeidi said the document made no mention of the government's demand that the militia disband and surrender its medium- and heavy-grade weapons.

But Ali Dabbagh, a spokesman for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said all sides had agreed that only the government is authorized to maintain an army and impose law.

Even if the discrepancies can be ironed out, it remains to be seen whether the gunmen who claim allegiance to the cleric in Sadr City will honor the accord.

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